The crisis began on Sunday October 14, 1962 when a United States Air Force U-2 aircraft on a photoreconnaissance mission captured photographic evidence of Soviet missile bases under construction in Cuba (examples below).

The United States considered attacking Cuba via air and sea, and settled on a military "quarantine" of Cuba. The confrontation ended on October 28, 1962, when President Kennedy and U.N. Secretary-General U Thant reached a public and secret agreement with Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev. The quarantine officially ended on November 20, 1962.

The SS-4 "Sandal" intermediate range missile

The Lockheed U-2 intelligence aircraft

On Monday October 22, President Kennedy announced the discovery of the missile installations to the public in a nationwide televised address.